Walk the Camino de Santiago

Days

8

Price from

$3,025CAD

Travel the famous pilgrimage route through Spain, from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela

Set off on this historic pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago. Enjoy the sights of historic towns including Sarria, Palas de Rei, Aruza and Rua, as you walk stretches of the Camino taking in the beautiful natural surrounds. This walking adventure combines the best of being on foot – the peace and tranquillity of the countryside – with ample leisure time to enjoy the regional cuisine and sights.

Walk the Camino de Santiago

Travel the famous pilgrimage route through Spain, from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela

Set off on this historic pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago. Enjoy the sights of historic towns including Sarria, Palas de Rei, Aruza and Rua, as you walk stretches of the Camino taking in the beautiful natural surrounds. This walking adventure combines the best of being on foot – the peace and tranquillity of the countryside – with ample leisure time to enjoy the regional cuisine and sights.

Listen to the stories about the significance of the Camino track and those who have walked its path from a local storyteller

Explore the vineyard terraces of Ribeira Sacra, tasting local wines at a vineyard and taking a boat trip to uncover the region's secrets

Experience Galician history with an overnight stay in a restored regional manor house

Discover the canyons of Ribeira Sacra on a private boat cruise and enjoy the picnic on the riverside overlooking the steep slopes of the valleys and canyons of his land

Is this trip right for you?

You'll need to be in good health and able to walk for a few hours, with some up-and-down, and on varied terrain – from well-defined paths to rocky trails.

During your discoveries you will visit a numerous religious sites – this requires a level of modesty. You will need to bring clothes that cover the arms and pants or skirts that go past the knees. A light scarf is also a good idea for covering shoulders and arms when it’s hot. Tour Leader will be able to advise when such a clothing is necessary.

Santiago de Compostela is a beautiful medieval town, but it may get pretty busy at times, with lots of pilgrims arriving every day.

On Day 8 we will take a full day excursion to Ribeira Sacra. Part of the day will be spent discovering the wonders of the region by boat. If water based transport is not your thing, please make sure you inform your leader, who will advise of some alternatives.

Gallery

Itinerary

Welcome to Spain. If you wish to take a complimentary group arrival transfer from Santiago de Compostela city or Santiago airport you will be met in one of this location by Peregrine representative. For exact timings, please check the Important Notes section of this document. The transfer will take you to Sarria, the start of your walking adventure on the Camino. This route echoes the path of medieval pilgrims, and today thousands walk as an act of faith, to find themselves, or to surround themselves with Spanish history and culture. Begin with a welcome meeting today, where you will meet your tour leader and travel companions. Please check with the hotel reception or look out for a notice board nearby for details of the meeting. You will also need to bring your travel insurance details to this meeting. After the meeting, you'll have dinner in the hotel's restaurant, tasting specialties of this area (principally meat and vegetables). Sarria has a lovely old city with views into the valley. At the Malecón (river promenade) there are many cafés and tapas bars. Sarria is also very popular for antique-lovers, with several good shops in the street Rúa do Lázaro. The convent of La Magdalena, the tower of Batallón, and the church of San Lázaro are the most important monuments in this village.

Accommodation

Hotel Alfonso IX or similar (1 night)

Included Activities

Complimentary GROUP arrival transfer

Meals Included

Put on your walking shoes for your first day out on the Camino trail. It’s useful to take a small day bag with you to carry your camera, some drinking water, perhaps a waterproof jacket, and maybe a few snacks for along the way. Walk along rural roads or corredoiras (tracks) through oak groves, Galician woods and dales, and through the small hamlets of Lavandeira and Ferreiros, no more than a crossroads with a small bar and rest house. Before reaching Portomarín, you'll cross the bridge of the River Miño. The remains of the old town of Portomarín are under the waters of the nearby reservoir. This is rural landscape, with small hamlets and good samples of Romanesque architecture, like the church of Barbadelo and the Nicolás Church in Portomarín. The Iglesia de San Juan was reconstructed stone-by-stone after being moved from the bottom of the valley to the side of a hill. This village, the target of the day, is very popular for the cake Tarta de Portomarín and for orujo, which is a liquor distilled from grape remains.

Accommodation

Included Activities

Meals Included

The walk today will start with an ascent up to Castromaior and then onto the Sierra de Ligonde, before descending gradually through the hamlets of Eirexe and Ligonde, and rolling countryside en route to the town of Palas de Rei. You’ll walk through forest and farmland, venture through a few very small communities, cross scrubland and look out across lovely yellow fields of mustard. During the day, you will walk uphill across Sierra de Ligonde, which has great examples of rural architecture such as cruceiros (stone crosses) and horreos (granaries) both made of granite, which is one of the most used building materials in Galicia. The Romanesque church of Vila de Donas, 3 kilometres off the Way is well worth a visit. This evening you'll wash down your dinner with queimada, a traditional Galician punch.

Accommodation

Included Activities

Meals Included

Today is perhaps the most challenging day of walking. Starting off along beautiful rural paths to Coto, you'll take an easy walk to Melide over the delightful four-arched medieval bridge at Furelos. There is a long stage crossing streams and there are some uphill and downhill sections, across fields and farms. Melide is half way, and a wonderful place to stop for lunch as the village specialises in ‘pulpo á feira’ (boiled octopus). There is also time to visit the old city here too. The camino here follows the path of an old Roman road that crossed Northern Spain – the Via Traiana. From Melide, it is another 15 kilometres along dry Galician paths and over hills, crossing stone bridges and witnessing an abundance of beautiful vistas – like the one created by the River Iso in the rustic, peaceful hamlet of Ribadiso, a great place to pause. Arzúa is then just a 3-kilometre ascent away. While you’re in the modern town of Arzúa, be sure to try the fresh local cheeses, especially Ulloa. Tonight you'll stay in a beautifully restored 18th century Galician mansion.

Accommodation

Meals Included

You're now onto the penultimate stage, where you'll walk over along lovely dirt tracks, across small hills, and through primarily agricultural countryside. You'll see rural landscapes, eucalyptus trees (thriving after being brought here as a building material from Australia in the 1800s) mixed in with pine and deciduous forest, walls of fern, and more tiny villages made of Galician granite. Be surrounded by the sounds of nature and the distant hum of the machinery that keeps these remote farms working. Finally today, you'll walk down to Rúa past the Chapel of Santa Irene – this is a medieval shrine dedicated to the Portuguese martyr Santa Irene, who is said to have died defending her vow of chastity. The waters of the baroque fountain here are said to have healing properties. Continue into Rúa, a pretty collection of old stone houses that’s home to just a handful of people. Rest up well, there are only a few kilometres left before reaching your final destination – Santiago de Compostela.

Notes: Total walking time today is 19 kilometres, approximately 4-5 hours.

Accommodation

Pensión Platas or similar (1 night)

Included Activities

Chapel of Santa Irene visit

Meals Included

Feel the excitement build as you begin the final stretch of your walk. Pass Pedrouzo, walk up through Amenal and drop down to Lavacolla, where medieval pilgrims traditionally bathed in the river to purify themselves before arriving in the holy city of Santiago. Ascend again to the Monte do Gozo (‘Mount of Joy’), so called for the feeling when pilgrims would catch their first sight of the towers of Compostela Cathedral. Embrace the atmosphere up here on the mount, alongside some walkers who may have trekked over 800 kilometres to be here. Now you are just 4 kilometres from the city, which you'll reach with a walk through the beautiful streets of the old town. End your walk at the Cathedral, which stands majestically on the Plaza del Obradoiro with its towers soaring above the town, and look back on your walk of the Camino. Enjoy the rest of the day at your leisure, exploring this historic city and perhaps celebrating with a cooling sangria. Santiago de Compostela is a World Heritage site, an open-air museum that holds many delights within its walls – the lively squares, the market and the University buildings are must sees. Wander down the streets of Rúa do Franco and Rúa da Raíña to try tapas, and explore the streets close to the cathedral for Galician specialties. Perhaps try peppers of Padrón, and empanadas (Galician pies, filled with meat or seafood).

Notes: Total walking distance today will be 21 kilometres, approximately 4-5 hours.

Accommodation

Hotel Virxe da Cerca or similar (1 night)

Included Activities

Santiago de Compostela orientation walk

Meals Included

Today is a relaxing excursion to enjoy after the days of walking. You’ll take a full day trip to the striking landscape of Ribeira Sacra (approximately 1 hour). ‘The Sacred River Bank’ is home to some of the most dramatic riverside vineyards on the planet – the vines here are almost vertical in terraces from the top of the mountain to the bottom of the valley, and were first terraced by the Romans. Here you’ll visit a vineyard, enjoy a wine tasting and a stroll around the grounds and cellars, and learn about regional wine production. Taste the Mencía variety of wine, made from the local mencía grape, and channel your inner wine expert. You'll then discover the secrets of the river by boat, winding through canyons, forgotten hamlets and waterfalls, before taking lunch at the riverside. Later on in the afternoon you'll return to Santiago, where you'll say your goodbyes to your fellow travellers – perhaps over a farewell dinner in one of the cafes, bars or tapas restaurants in the old town.

Days

8

Price from

$3,025CAD

Travel the famous pilgrimage route through Spain, from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela

Set off on this historic pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago. Enjoy the sights of historic towns including Sarria, Palas de Rei, Aruza and Rua, as you walk stretches of the Camino taking in the beautiful natural surrounds. This walking adventure combines the best of being on foot – the peace and tranquillity of the countryside – with ample leisure time to enjoy the regional cuisine and sights.

Reviews

Philip Copsey

Very good trip. Well organised. The only drawback when we arrived in Santiago that because we were a group of 2 people we were not considered as a group for purposes of lining up for getting our Camino certificates. This meant that even though our guide tried to explain that we had a group booking, it meant no difference and we had to come back the next morning for our certificates rather than line up for one and a half hours on the finish day .

Dates & availability

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Important notes

This is a walking trip. You'll need to be in good health and able to walk for up to 7 hours with some inclines and some declines and on varied terrain from well-defined paths to rocky trails.

A complimentary group arrival transfer from Santiago de Compostela city (Hotel Virxe da Cerca) or Santiago de Compostela airport is available on this trip and will depart at 2pm from the Hotel Virxe da Cerca airport, through the airport (3pm) to Sarria. If you wish to take this transfer, please provide your flight details to Peregrine or your travel consultant at least two weeks before the start of the trip. Transfer must be booked in advance. PLEASE NOTE, if you simply turn up at the airport for the transfer without notifying Peregrine, we cannot guarantee that space will be available. In such case, you may need to take a taxi at your own expense.

Single Supplement, pre and post tour additional accommodation and departure transfer are available to book upon request, subject to availability. Please contact your Travel Consultant for more details.

Essential Trip Information

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